


Spiders of the same power, stick together

by K_I_Hernandez



Series: Silkverse [1]
Category: Deadpool (Movieverse), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Venom (Movie 2018), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-10-11 01:04:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17436938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_I_Hernandez/pseuds/K_I_Hernandez
Summary: Peter Parker wasn't the only one bitten by the radioactive spider during the school field trip, his childhood friend, Cindy Moon was also bitten, but while Peter is thrilled with using his new powers, Cindy is just trying to keep them under control and under wraps. But whatever happens, Peter is right by her side because spiders of the same power, stick together. Spider-man X Silk





	1. Second Bitten Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite having a co-ed soccer game, Cindy Moon is forced to go on the school field trip by her mother, something that the sophomore resents. However, after discovering that her childhood best friend had disappeared in the middle of the field trip and finding him locked inside janitor's closet one split-second event will change Cindy's life forever.

.

Cindy Moon

.

"Tomorrow is the school field trip!"

I froze mid-bite and looked up from my sandwich, turning to the source of the over-excited squeal with a decidedly blank stare.

My childhood friend, Peter Parker, looked positively ecstatic with wide excited eyes and an ear-to-ear grin on his face. Judging by how he was looking right at me when he said that, he was trying to rub off some of that excitement on me.

So, I turned back to my sandwich and took another bite, as if he hadn't said anything.

Out of my peripherals, I could see Peter deflate visibly and I winced.

Part of me did feel really bad for raining on his parade so effortlessly and thoroughly.

But the rest of me was still pissed at the fact that he had just broached the subject of tomorrow's field trip; a subject that I was trying to avoid at all costs for two reasons.

One, I had to go on that stupid trip, despite having absolutely no interest in it.

And two, the subject, whenever mentioned, reminds me of this mornings' latest family drama.

And with my advanced eidetic memory, that means I have to relive the entire memory as if I was still in it.

Just one of the many reasons why my picture perfect memory is more trouble than its worth.

"Why are you like this, Cin? Aren't you even a little excited?" Peter asked curiously, albeit put off, obviously trying not to let my disinterest get to him.

I just shrugged at him, still eating.

"Come on, you've got to be at least a little excited." Peter's enthusiasm was overwhelming.

I looked up at my sandwich and gave him a blank stare and raised an eyebrow. I really hope he would take the hint.

He didn't.

Instead, he held up a finger and gestured in a way that asked me to stay with him and hear him out.

"I know you're not as into this stuff as I am." Very true. "And that you prefer gymnastics, ice skating and soccer." Also true.

"If you know that much why are we still having this conversation" I muttered under my breath.

"But just think about all the exhibits we'd get to see!" Peter practically squealed. "Maybe they have one on-"

Aaaaand, that's my cue to start tuning out the conversation because I knew from personal experience that the next words that would come out of his mouth would involve a lot sciencey techno-lingo that would completely go over my head.

Normally this would be a good thing, for obvious reasons, but with the field trip still in the forefront of my mind, I couldn't help but think about this morning's family drama, something I've been trying to avoid doing, since I left the apartment.

"I hate you!" 

I winced as those three words echoed in my mind and the subsequent image of my mother's face that followed it.

The thing about having the ability to retain everything you see is that you remember everything.

And forget nothing.

Even the most painful memories; the ones that we all try so hard to erase from our minds. I can't do that. Not even if I wanted to.

No matter how much time passed, I can recall any memory I have as if it had just happened to me a second ago. A memory could be decades old and it wouldn't matter at all; it would still be crystal clear. I won't forget about anything that's happened to me.

So, those three harsh words, the fact that I said it to my own mother, and the shocked and hurt look on her face is seared into my mind, until the day I died and I will relive the entire experience every time I think about it.

Damn my advanced eidetic memory.

I really should think about something else, anything else. But that was easier said than done, since each flashback of this morning's fight triggered even more flashbacks until every scintilla of my mind was preoccupied with reliving the latest drama in the moon family.

As if I needed that right now.

Still, I shouldn't feel too bad about, right? I mean, girls my age get into fights with their parents all the time and wasn't teenage angst about your parents actually normal for teenagers? Wasn't it like one of the most defining traits of that phase in one's life? Isn't it practically a requirement?

Also, I was hardly the first teenager to have said those three hurtful words to their mother, some even say it to both their parents on a regular basis, and compared to them I was a freaking saint.

Plus, I was hardly in the wrong.

Okay, sure maybe I shouldn't have lost my temper and snapped at my mother like that, but she was the one who kept pushing me to do things I had no interest in doing.

But all things considered, I've been rather generous and patient about the whole thing wasn't I? I humoured them and their suggestions, didn't I?

I didn't even want to go to Midtown High but I'm a student here and am attending classes aren't I?

I didn't want to join the academic decathlon team, but I won the nationals for them last year, didn't I?

I did all that for them and humoured all the requests and suggestions they made since they found out about my eidetic memory, practically bending over backwards for them, but when it's my turn to want to do something, they couldn't even bring themselves to return the favour!

How was that fair?!

"Cindy?"

"What?!"

The sight of Peter's hurt face made me wince. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. This morning's memory just got me riled up.

I took a deep breath and sighed, running a hand down my face. "I'm sorry, Pete. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Hurt gave way to concern and worry as he stared at me. "Are you okay, Cin? Did something happen?"

I shook my head at him and focused back on my sandwich.

I could practically feel his stare boring into the side of my head and I tried my best to ignore it.

I couldn't.

I let out another sigh as I turned to look at him. Sure enough, he was giving a very sceptical look.

No point in lying, then.

"Look, Pete, I really don't want to talk about it, okay?" I said tiredly as I rubbed my forehead.

His brows promptly furrowed in confusion for a few seconds, before they suddenly shot up in what I assume is realisation. I just hope he won't blurt it out loud because the last thing I ne-

"You have a co-ed game tomorrow!"

Damn it.

I sighed again and looked at him tiredly. "Yes, Pete. I do have a co-ed game tomorrow; one that I won't be able to go to because mother dearest all but forced me to go on the field trip. Thank you for reminding me." I said sarcastically.

"Sorry."

"It's fine, Pete. Can we just not talk about it anymore?"

"Yeah, sure, I can do that." Peter nodded with a sympathetic smile on his face, one that I returned tiredly.

"Thanks, Pete."

I knew how much this field trip meant to him and I knew that it's all he wants to talk about right now. It meant a lot to me that he would keep a lid on his excitement for my sake.

Besides, maybe I was blowing this out f proportion. Maybe, the field trip won't be as bad as I think it is.

.

I was right.

This field trip isn't as bad as I thought it was.

It's so much worse.

"Now, everyone, let's move on to our next exhibit, the proper handling of nuclear waste through the use of-"

I stifled a yawn with my hand as the tour guide kept drawling on and on about the robot show behind him, gesturing grandly and a wide smile on his face.

I inwardly rolled my eyes at the spectacle. He was really laying it on thick for the rest of the class, who were looking at the generic-looking, lab coat-wearing brunette, like a bunch of fish out of water, with mouths gaping.

I spared the robotics show a glance and admitted that it did look pretty cool.

To anyone who wasn't me, that is.

Honestly, I have been trying to fight off the sheer boredom that was threatening to knock me unconscious since the tour began and the darn thing has barely started.

I let out a frustrated sigh and shook my head in an attempt to get rid of the drowsiness.

"Why did I agree to this again?" I asked to no one in particular.

The answer was obvious, I didn't.

More specifically, I had no desire to go on the school field trip to General Techtronics and the only reason I was even here is because mother dearest had all but forced me to go.

"Stupid eidetic memory" I muttered under my breath before scanning my gaze across the laboratory in an attempt to pass the time or find something, anything that could cure my incessant boredom.

No dice. Glass panels, lab coats, and metal as far as the eye could see. It's like I stepped into one of those germicidal soap commercials.

Resigned to my fate, I turned back to the tour guide, who still wasn't finished with his over-the-top presentation, and the rest of my class, who were still gaping like fish out of water.

If I had to suffer through boredom, then the least I could do is suffer beside my childhood friend, Peter.

My brows suddenly furrowed in confusion as I scanned the group of students in search of my best friend. Where was he?

I frowned as I looked at the class again. Did I just miss him.

Nothing. Peter wasn't there.

"Did he get bored and leave for the bathroom?" I muttered before shaking my head at the thought.

This was Peter Parker, he had been excited about this trip, since it was first announced and nothing short of an alien attack over New York would be enough to make him miss this exhibition, much less a full bladder. He would let it burst like a dam first, before choosing to miss a second of this trip.

I spotted Peter's other friend, Ned Leeds, in the crowd and made my way over to him.

I grabbed him by the shoulder and half-turned him to face me.

"Ned." I hissed.

He looked surprised. I couldn't really blame him, we barely say two words to each other, despite having the same best friend. "Cindy?"

"Have you seen Peter?" At that, he looked around the class with worried eyes. "I swear he was here a second ago."

"Did he tell you that he was going somewhere or something?" I prompted.

He shook his head.

I chewed my lip at that, did he get lost? That's unlikely, Peter was smart enough not to wander around in a place like this, despite how eager he could be about anything science-related. Also, if he did, he would've his way back to the class by now.

Ned was still looking around for our wayward best friend when I saw it from my peripheral vision.

Flash Thompson was smirking and staring right at us.

I turned to him sharply and he quickly looked back at the tour guide, though he couldn't quite get the smug smile off his face.

What I wouldn't give to punch that smug little smile right off his face with a handful of teeth to go along with it.

I felt kind of stupid for taking this long to figure out why Peter went AWOL because of course that little shit would pull a stunt like this during the field trip Peter had been so excited about.

Of freaking course, he would, because why wouldn't he? After all, Peter has been looking forward to this trip for over two months now, what better way to mess with him than to make him miss out most of it.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as I kept staring at that smug little grin that was barely hidden by his lips.

I should punch that grin right off his face. Just walk right over there and slug him across the face for pulling this kind of stunt. Maybe that'll get the guy to leave my best friend alone.

Or maybe he'll just make his bullying even worse, complain about the incident to the principal, and get me suspended or worse. Leaving Peter all alone to deal with his incessant bullying.

With a drawn out sigh, I let the tension slowly leave my body, uncurling my fists at my side and letting my jaw go lax. Punching Flash Thompson across the face isn't the best action right now; no matter how good it would feel.

First things first, I needed to find Peter and something tells me that Flash isn't just going to tell me where he is, which means that I have to go look for him the old fashioned way.

Fantastic.

I let out a resigned sigh, before turning to Ned, who looked very worried for our friend. "Hey, Ned" He turned to me, still looking worried about our friend. "I'm gonna go look for Peter, okay? Try to cover for us."

Ned nodded at me. "Yeah, sure I can do that. No problem."

For some reason, I doubted that, but I nodded nonetheless and slipped away from the class discretely. Not all that hard, since they were still gawking and gaping.

I slipped out of the exhibition room completely unnoticed and ended up in the long hallway we went through about a minute ago.

I couldn't help but frown at the sheer number of doors on both sides of it. It would take me hours to search through them all and I didn't have hours. It's only a matter of time before the tour guide notices we're missing.

"Then again, maybe not. After all, he had no clue that Peter was missing." I muttered under my breath as I scanned the doors on either side of the hallway. They all looked exactly alike, same color, same metallic finish; the only way to tell them apart was the nameplates on them.

Chances are Flash tossed Peter into one of these rooms, but it can't be just any room if his goal was to hide Peter until the end of the tour, there were a lot of workers here after all. So, a room that was rarely opened like a janitor's closet or something like that.

I moved further down the hall and scanned the various nameplates, before I stopped in front of the room I was looking for near the end of the hall.

"Utilities" the nameplate read.

Well, that was as close to a janitor's closet as I can get in this place.

I raised my hand and knocked on the metal door three times, before calling out. "Pete? Are you in there?"

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. BRIIIINNNG. THUD. "OW!" CLANG. BANG. THUMP. WHOMP. "OWWW!"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head in exasperation. "Yup, he's definitely in there." I muttered as I grabbed the doorknob and, without preamble, pulled the door open.

My childhood friend unceremoniously fell out of the closet and out on the floor with a startled yelp, before he was promptly buried by several metal buckets, mops, brooms, and bottles that came falling out with him.

Ah, this must be the infamous Parker luck he kept muttering about. How every time something good happened to him, something even worse will immediately follow. Now, I get why he hated it so much. Then again, it could just be his two left feet working against him.

I raised an eyebrow at my dishevelled friend as he sat up and started tossing the various supplies back into the room he fell out of.

"Flash?" I asked needlessly.

He nodded in agreement. "Flash."

I swear, one day that pathetic excuse for a decathlete will get what's coming to him. Maybe I can accidentally kick a soccer ball right in his face during gym.

Seeing the resigned and dejected expression on his face as he tossed supplies into the room, I knew that he was mostly sad about missing the field trip. I couldn't help but speak up.

"You don't have to worry, Pete. You didn't really miss all that much; just an overenthusiastic and overly-exaggerated presentation on the -wonders and importance of the fabulous disposal of nuclear wastage here at General Techtronics!" I tried my best to mimic the tour guide's voice and gestures as I quoted him, hoping it'll make Peter a little less down.

He snorted before chuckling under his breath and I beamed. It worked!

"You're just exaggerating, there's no way he would say it like that." Peter said disbelievingly while still chuckling.

I giggled a little before gesturing to the door to the exhibit. "Then by all means, Mr. Parker. See for yourself."

Peter smiled at me. "Don't mind if I do, Miss Moon."

I rolled my eyes amusedly, before offering a hand to pull him up. He reached out to take it, but he suddenly jerked his hand away and cradled it to his chest. "OW!"

His face was contorted in pain. I was instantly worried. I reached out a hand to try and help. "Peter's what's wrong? What hap-"

A sharp pain lanced through my ankle sharply. "OW! What the heck?!"

My hands flew to my right ankle, trying to find what's wrong with it. All I found was a large red bump on the skin, like a bug bite.

I frowned as my eyes caught sight of something small next to my foot.

It was a spider and judging by the fact that it was curled up, it was also very much dead. Clearly, it was also the culprit for my mystery bug bite.

My eyes turned to Peter, who was still cradling his hand and reached out a hand. "Here, let me see."

After a bit of coaxing, he finally let me see his injured hand, albeit reluctantly. Sure enough, there was the same spider bite on the skin between his thumb and index finger.

"Stupid arachnids." I muttered as I let go of his hand.

He looked confused. "What?"

I gestured to the dead spider at my feet. His eyes lit up in curiosity as he leaned in to get a better look. I watched his brows furrow in confusion as he kept staring at the spider.

"Is it venomous?" I asked sounding worried. I knew I should've worn long pants instead of the short-sleeved cream shirt, black skirt, and doll shoes I had on.

He shook his head. "I don't know."

I turned to him sharply at that, my brows shooting up to my hairline. "You don't know?" I asked, sounding a little shrill.

His eyes looked sheepish behind his black framed glasses. "It's not really a species I've seen before, Cin. I haven't even heard of a bright blue and red species of spider before"

I took a deep breath, before letting it out slowly as I ran my fingers through my long, straight raven black hair. "So, we've apparently been bitten by an unknown species of spider that may or may not be venomous? That's what you're telling me?"

Looking sheepish, Peter nodded at me. Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse. Well, at least it wasn't boring anymore.

"I'm sorry." Peter said despondently and I turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "if you hadn't come looking for me, then-"

"Then you probably wouldn't have been found until the end of the day and if the spider was venomous then you wouldn't have gotten help in time." I continued pointedly with a hard stare.

He closed his mouth shut, but still looked guilty.

He was blaming himself because, of course, he would. This is Peter Parker we're talking about here. He does this kind of thing all the time, even when it couldn't have been possibly his fault. Well, I wasn't having any of it.

"Pete, stop. This isn't your fault, okay. Besides, it's already done, so there really isn't a point to pointing fingers." I said as calmly as I could and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Let's just get back to the exhibit, I know you've been looking forward to this trip for well over a month and I don't want you to miss out more of it."

Peter was taken aback. "But-"

"No buts, now get yours off the floor and stand up" I said with finality as I rose to my feet and offered him a hand.

He still looked guilty, unsure, and reluctant.

My patience was wearing thin, so I gave him a pointedly droll look and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm waiting."

He flinched a bit and took my hand before I pulled him up to his feet.

As we walked back to the exhibit room, half of my mind kept worrying about the spider bite and whether or not it was venomous, but the other half was too busy being relieved that I finally found my childhood friend.

Maybe this whole field trip wouldn't be so bad now that I had my best friend to rant to.

.

I was wrong.

The rest of the trip had taken a turn for the worst.

It's been roughly a few hours since I freed Peter from the utilities closet and ever since then I've been getting sporadic dizzy spells, each one lasting longer and getting more severe than the last. At first, it was just a momentary loss of balance for a second or two, but now it was like the whole room was a gyroscope and would toss and turn every which way.

There was also the persistent cold sweat, the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me want to empty my insides out on the flooring, and the painful throbbing in my forearms and the base of my skull.

It had gotten to the point that by the time the field trip was over and we were finally at school. I was practically dead on my feet and judging by the way Peter looked, I wasn't the only one.

"You feeling okay? You don't look so good." I asked concernedly, eying Peter's pale and pasty face.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm okay, Cin." Peter said distractedly as he adjusted his black glasses.

I rolled my eyes. "That's not suspicious at all, Pete. I'm sure May won't know something's wrong." I said sarcastically.

He turned to me with an annoyed glare but his eyes suddenly widened and his jaw dropped in disbelief.

I knew I looked just as bad, if not worse than he did, but I didn't like having my best friend look at me like I was an extra from the walking dead.

Hoping to lighten the mood, I chuckled at him. "Geez, I know I look good, Pete, but you don't have to stare." I said playfully and batted my eyelashes at him. "But if you must, feel free to do so."

His mouth clamped shut with a snap and blood rushed to his pale face, coloring it red.

I just giggled at him and shook my head exasperatedly.

Bad move.

The world suddenly gave a violent lurch and my laugh hitched in my throat as the world suddenly started spinning every which way. My ears were ringing in my ear and my vision kept splitting into doubles.

I was losing balance. I felt myself careen to the right.

My whole body ached and throbbed painfully. I couldn't catch myself. I was gonna fall.

This was going to hurt.

I felt something wrap around my waist, catching my fall. What was that? What stopped me? They felt like arms, who's arms were they?

The world gave another violent lurch. I felt like throwing up. I could practically taste the bile at the back of my throat.

Something blocks my vision. Couldn't tell what it was. Too blurry, like a camera out of focus. And the room was still spinning like a gyroscope.

Whatever it was though, it looked really familiar. Really familiar.

It was moving, too.

And there's two of them.

I wonder what these blurry, fuzzy, moving things were.

Whatever they were I wish they would stop shaking me. I was dizzy enough as it is.

"Cin?!"

They sounded familiar, too, but it sounded really far away. Maybe. Couldn't tell. Ears were still ringing.

"CIN?!"

Oh, that was Peter's voice. I was talking to him before I got another dizzy spell, I remember now. He sounds worried and more than a little panicked. I should do something to reassure him.

"Pete?" Christ, I sounded as bad as I felt. How was I supposed to reassure him when I sounded like I'm talking through gravel?

I think he sighed in relief, not entirely sure, ears were still ringing, my head feels like someone's tap dancing on it, and now black spots are starting to appear in my already out of focus and double-seeing vision.

That's not good.

"I knew I should've stayed at home." I managed to mutter.

The world went black.

.


	2. Second Bitten Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after her spider bite, Cindy no longer feels any of the side effects she experienced yesterday, so she opts to go to school, only to find out out that the spider bite may have more drastic side effects that she hadn't considered as her body goes through a drastic and immediate change that could attract unwanted attention and get her in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so before we all get to the story, I thought I would just make it clear that the only reason I even posted this story online is because I wanted to honor the memory of my idol, Stan Lee, and what better way to do that than by posting a story about his most popular creation, Spider-man.
> 
> I have been writing down stories about spider-man and other superheroes since I was just a kid, but I never once posted online until less than a month ago. I just wanted to share with you all the stories that have been collecting dust on my computer. 
> 
> Now in the past few weeks one thing I noticed about this site is that there is a noticeable lack of stories on this site that have a Spider-man and Silk pairing (which sucks a bit for me because Cindy Moon's Silk is my favorite Spider-woman), which is why I decided that the first story I'll publish as an online fanfiction author will be about focus on the Spider-man and Silk pairing. 
> 
> Now, as I've said below the universe where this all takes place will be a hybrid between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the several other Marvel Universes that are a not under Marvel Studios. So, expect several characters to appear in this story, like Fox's Deadpool and Sony's Venom. 
> 
> Also, this story was originally posted to a different site, but I thought I would also write it here, too, since stories with a Cindy X Peter pairing are very rare on these kinds of sites.
> 
> Okay, now that that's out of the way, enjoy!

.

Cindy Moon

.

I am a coward.

A complete and utter coward.

Did I really just ditch my own mother this morning, after she had driven all the way down to our school, took me home in her car, carried me all the way up to my room, stayed up the entire night just to take care of me and make sure that I was still breathing, despite being past the brink exhaustion herself, because I didn't know how to talk to her after our recent argument?

Holy shit, I think I did.

I was going straight to hell for this.

Ugh, why did teenage hormones have to make it so easy to get into fights with your family, but not so easy to resolve them? Isn't there some sort of guidebook or instruction manual on how to resolve rebellious teenage fights? If there wasn't, somebody should really look into that, would save a lot of teenagers a whole lot of trouble and save families a whole lot of heartache.

Teenagers are good at getting into fights, not so good at getting out of them. Saying things we didn't really comes as naturally to us as breathing.

Being a teenager sucked.

Then again, what else is new?

I adjusted my grip on the straps of my shoulder bag as I stood in front of the stairs leading to Midtown High. I took a deep breath and another, before jogging up the stairs and tried to power walk through the crowded hallway.

Key word: Tried.

I couldn't be more than ten paces into the hallway when my head suddenly throbbed and my ears started ringing like a fire alarm.

Not again.

This was the last thing I needed. I did not want to have to deal with any stares or questions right now, so I resisted the urge to react and tried my best to not let the pain show on my face. Easier said than done.

Deep breaths, Cindy, just stand up straight and start jogging to your locker. I thought to myself.

Trying my best to ignore the throbbing, I stood up and resumed my power walk through the halls.

I had expected the throbbing to last for the rest of the day, I didn't expect it to subside a few seconds into my power walk. It was so unexpected, I stopped right in the middle of the hallway.

Cautiously, I prepared for the throbbing headache to return, much worse than before.

It didn't.

Confused but grateful, I shrugged and continued on my way. I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Now, if only the ringing in my ears would stop.

As if on cue, the ringing in my ears slowly ebbed away, like a volume dial slowly getting turned down, until all I could hear was the background noise around me.

Well, that wasn't suspicious at all.

The day hasn't even started yet and weird things are already happening to me left and right.

"Calm down, Cindy. Don't read too much into it" I muttered under my breath. "You'll only freak yourself out."

Aaaand now I'm talking to myself.

Lovely.

Shaking my head furiously and slapping my cheeks a few times, I continued walking to my locker. Hopefully, I would've filled my quota for dealing with weird things by then.

Surprisingly, I didn't suffer any more episodes after that. Not when I reached my locker, not while I was opening my locker and not while I was putting away my books. It was probably just a phantom sensation or something like that.

I had just closed my locker when a very familiar and very incredulous-sounding voice reached my ears. "Cin?!"

I turned around and sure enough, Peter was walking towards me, surprise evident in his features.

As I watched him cross the distance between us, I frowned. There was this itching feeling that something was different about him, but I didn't know what.

Before I could figure what that something was, warm arms wrapped around my frame and my mind instantly grinded to a halt and my entire body froze.

Peter Parker was hugging me in the middle of the school hallway.

Here I thought I've already filled my quota for weird things today.

Before I could say some witty and sarcastic one-liner or do anything other than stand like a stone statue, Peter took a step back and broke the hug.

He did keep his hands just above my elbow, though. Surprisingly, I didn't really mind the contact as much I thought I would.

"What are you doing here?" He sounded equal parts worried, concerned, and disbelieving.

For no reason I could think of, those five words put me in a bad mood.

"Well, good morning to you, too, Pete." I said grumpily.

He looked exasperated. "I'm serious, Cin, what are you doing here?"

I rolled my eyes at the question. "Oh, gee, I don't know it's a Wednesday morning and I'm a student here, so what do you think?"

He groaned. "Cin"

Again, that rubbed me off the wrong way, so I huffed and turned to leave.

At least, I tried to leave, but his grip on my upper arms held me firm. Since when did he get this strong?! Last I checked, I was better than him in the physical department.

I wasn't giving up that easily though. If I can't get away from him, then I just wasn't gonna look at him.

I heard him sigh and I could feel his shoulders slump slightly. "Okay, that kinda came out wrong." I could practically see the dejected expression on his face.

I wasn't gonna let it get to me. "You think?" I deadpanned.

"I'm sorry"

I just nodded.

There was a stretch of silence for a few seconds until Peter spoke. "So...uh..."

I looked up at him with an impatient expression, silently prompting him to get on with it.

"Are you really okay? After yesterday, I mean." He asked hesitantly.

Not really, no, but I wasn't gonna tell him that.

"I could ask you the same thing." I retorted. "You didn't look so hot either."

"Yeah, but I'm fine now." He insisted.

I raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Are you?"

"You're the one who fainted." He pointed out.

"And you looked like you were seconds away from doing the same."

"At least I made it back to my own bed before I did"

Aha!

"So, you did faint."

He winced at being caught and raised his finger, silently asking me to wait; he was probably going to backtrack. Not something he was good at.

"Okay, yeah, I did but I'm fine now." he insisted.

I didn't buy it for one second. My best friend is notorious for enduring in silence and willingly suffering at the expense of others.

The scepticism must've shown on my face. "Really, Cin. I'm fine. In fact, I feel way better today than I did my entire life." Peter exclaimed.

"Yeah, nothing makes your life infinitely better than a bite from a spider that may or may not have been venomous and may or may not have spent majority of its life crawling inside a facility that serves as storage for several elements and chemicals that can be fatal to humans." My voice practically oozed sarcasm.

"Okay, I know that what happened yesterday sounds really bad-"

"Understatement of the year."

"-and that we probably should be still in bed recovering-"

"The fact that we're even still alive, let alone walking, is nothing short of a miracle"

"But I'm serious, Cin." He was beaming now and I could tell that he had been waiting all morning to tell someone about this.

I wasn't going to rain on his parade, lest I drive a wedge between me and my oldest friend.

Instead I let out a sigh, shook my head, and gave him a small tired smile. "Enlighten me, then." I said amusedly

He gestured to his face with both hands and looked at me expectedly. "Exhibit A"

He wasn't wearing his glasses. That must've been the something different I failed to notice.

I keep my face blank as I deadpan, "You have a mustache drawn on your face with permanent marker."

"Wait, what!?" His hands instantly flew up to cover the nonexistent stache and I burst out laughing. Sometimes, Peter was too gullible for his own good.

He stopped covering his mouth and glared at me. "Oh, ha ha very funny." He drawled sarcastically.

"Hilarious." I agreed wholeheartedly.

Once I sobered up, I asked again and forced myself not to laugh at Peter's pouting face. "Okay, I'm serious now. Did you forget your glasses at home? How does that make your life better."

He beamed and exclaimed. "When I woke up this morning, I didn't need them anymore."

That was unexpected. "You...didn't need them anymore?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it was like every time I tried to put them on, everything was all blurry but when I had them off-"

"-you suddenly got 20/20 vision." I finished.

"Exactly."

Huh. That was definitely weird. Good, of course, but weird nonetheless.

Looks like I wasn't the only one with a quota to fill.

"Are you two just gonna stand around here all morning staring at each other or do you actually plan on getting to your classes."

Peter and I blinked and as one we turned to the source of the third voice.

An elderly man wearing tinted sunglasses and a janitor uniform was staring at us impatiently, one hand on his hip and the other holding onto a broom.

"Sorry about that, Stan. Just got a little carried away." I apologized and straightened up, as did Peter.

"Mhm-hm" he didn't look convinced but nodded all the same. "You should get a move on then"

Peter and I nodded in agreement before we turned to leave for our next class.

"So, I assume the better eyesight isn't the only thing that's got you in a better mood." I asked while we walked to our next class. "What else has you acting like a kid on christmas morning?"

He chose to ignore my kid comment. "So, do you know how I've always been thin and lanky"

I hummed thoughtfully and nodded. "You do give off the nerdy student vibe, yes." I looked him in the eye before continuing. "I assume that had changed since yesterday"

He nodded at me furiously. "I just woke up this morning and when I saw myself in the mirror my body was-"

I raised my hand up to his face. "I'm gonna stop you right there. I really don't want to hear about the details of your spider bite induced puberty. Bottom line is you're now more muscular than you have ever been in your whole life, do I have that right?"

He nodded at me. "That's right." He suddenly blinked before turning to look at me. "Wait, didn't you notice anything different about you today"

"I already have 20/20 vision, Pete. And aside from a bad headache nothing else has happened to me"

Hopefully, nothing else will.

"You haven't checked?" Peter asked incredulously. I just shrugged. "Why?"

Because I was in too much of a hurry to leave the house before mom wakes up to notice any changes, but he didn't need to know that.

Again, I shrugged. "Didn't really seem like a priority?"

He gaped at me disbelievingly. "What? Why? This could be the best thing that has ever happened to us!"

"Okay, Mr. Spider human." I rolled my eyes. "Just don't come crying to me when you start sprouting out extra pairs of eyes or start spinning webs out of your butt."

I could practically hear the sound of a record scratching as Peter suddenly froze, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

So much for not raining on his parade.

I raised an eyebrow and stopped to face him. "I'm guessing you haven't even thought of that?"

Still gaping, he shook his head.

I shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much about it, I'm sure none of that would happen." Probably. Maybe.

He was still gaping.

I groaned and crossed my arms. "Pete, I was just joking. Now, come on, we're gonna be late for class."

He didn't move a muscle.

Losing my patience, I sighed grabbed his hand and started pulling him along towards our next class. Hopefully, he would've snapped out of his daze by then.

I won't hold my breath, though.

.

I shouldn't be surprised.

Peter has just confessed all the different changes his body had gone through ever since the spider bite yesterday.

Since I was bitten by the same spider, I should've known that the same side effects could happen to me.

For all intents and purposes, I should have seen this coming.

That still didn't stop me from gaping at my gorgeous new body, which was clad in a white sports bra and white panties, in the mirror of the girl's locker room. Who could blame me? It looked like it belonged to a young Hollywood actress than a 15 year old high school girl going to midtown tech.

Okay, that was an exaggeration...for the most part.

My body didn't spontaneously turn into one that could rival the black widow or the scarlet witch, but it was on its way there, given a few more years at least.

One thing's for sure, though. I did not remember my body having all these hourglass curves yesterday; my body wasn't as filled out like it is, my waist wasn't so taut and flat, my hips didn't jut out subtly the way they did now, my butt wasn't as prominent as it is, and my...chest didn't bulge out like this.

Thankfully, I could still pass for a 15 year old girl...just one that has the body and physique of an 18-21 year old fitness model.

Once again, I should've seen this coming. I should've known that my body would...change the moment Peter said something about his body's changes since the spider bite this morning. I should've remembered that we had gym for last period.

And I should've realized that my normal baggy gym clothes would be tight and form-fitting if my body had changed this morning.

I groaned out loud and buried my face in my hands.

I should just stay in the girl's locker room until the end of gym class. I did not want to get gaped and gawked at by a bunch of hormonal high school boys because my gym clothes could barely fit me now.

I sighed and slowly ran my hands down my face.

As much as I wanted to just stay here in the girl's locker room, I knew I couldn't just cut classes, not if I wanted to enact my plan to patch things up with my Mom.

With another sigh, I picked up my gym clothes from where I threw them on the floor earlier and put them on with some effort.

Once that was done, I left the girl's locker room and made my way over to the bleachers as fast as I could without drawing any unwanted attention to myself. It didn't matter, though. Some of the boys and even some of the girls stopped their conversations and started staring at me.

So, much for not drawing unwanted attention to myself.

I plopped down on the lowest seat on the bleachers and just watched the other students go through exercises, still trying to ignore the stares some of the boys shot me.

Not a second sooner, someone plopped down beside and I froze, thinking that it was one of those guys who kept staring at me, but I relaxed once I realized that it was Peter.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked concernedly.

I gave him a tight-lipped smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I said distractedly. "I just wish I had a baggier set of gym clothes is all"

At that, Peter looked over my shoulder, where I presumed some boys are staring at me, before he nodded at me. "I got a spare set of gym clothes in my locker. They were too big for me, so I've never really worn them. You can wear that if your clothes are too tight for you now" he offered with a gesture to my form-fitting clothes.

I smiled at the offer, but I shook my head nonetheless. "Thanks, Pete, but I doubt you want to send everyone in gym the wrong message"

He looked confused. "Message? What message?"

"That you and I are dating." I replied nonchalantly.

"What?!" He blurted a little too loudly, before he dropped his voice to a whisper. "What do you mean, why would they think we were dating? I was just gonna lend you some clothes."

I blinked at him in response. I thought it was pretty obvious actually, but then again Peter does have a history of being oblivious, despite his intelligence.

"You really don't know?"

He nodded at me.

Looks like I'm gonna have to spell it out for him, then.

"Okay, so I had just walked out of the girl's locker room wearing clothes that hug the curves my body now has, which implies that I'm trying to get attention." I started.

Peter nodded at me with furrowed brows.

"Then out of the blue, you sit next to me and we have a hushed conversation."

"That's perfectly normal, we've been friends since pre-school" he retorted confusedly.

I nodded. "That's true, but not everyone here knows that."

He still looked a little puzzled, but nodded for me to continue.

"Now, if I walked back to the girl's locker room and walked out wearing more loose-fitting gym clothes. That implies that you didn't like the fact that a lot of boys were staring at my figure and the only reason you would have a problem with that is that if you and I were dating and that you were being possessive." I concluded.

Peter still looked like he didn't understand. "That doesn't make any sense. There's plenty of other reasons why you would change your clothes."

"True, but that's the reason they'll think"

"That's a little presumptuous, isn't it?"

"Welcome to the world of high school gossip" I deadpanned. "where we'll spin the wildest tales about you for breathing wrong."

He snorted out a chuckle. "Is it really that bad?"

I snorted in disbelief and nodded. "It is. You have no idea how outrageous the stories high school students with too much time on their hands could come up with."

"Oh, come on, how bad can they be?"

"By the end of today, I bet half of the school will be convinced we've been replaced by celebrities under disguises and they're in one of those hidden camera shows."

He gaped at me in disbelief before he burst in a smile. "No...Really?"

"And that's the least ridiculous thing they could come up with" I replied with an insistent nod.

"What could be more ridiculous than that?"

In response, I brought my hands up and schooled my features to imitate a very popular meme and uttered: "Aliens"

He burst out laughing and I followed suit with my own high-pitched giggles.

My giggled suddenly hitched into a gasp as the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood up and the world slowed to a crawl. Acting on instinct I shot my hand forward in front of Peter's face.

Not a second later, a soccer ball landed in the palm of my hand with a lot of force.

I stared at the ball in open-mouthed shock and Peter quickly stopped laughing to do the same. I didn't know what surprised me more, the fact that I actually knew the ball was coming or that I was able to catch it without budging an inch.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?" Peter asked in astonishment.

"I don't know." I answered, sounding dazed.

"Do you think it has something to do with..." he trailed off and I knew he was referring to our shared little bug bite.

"That'd be my first guess" I was good at the game sure, but my body wasn't physically able feel the ball coming towards him before.

Once the shock tied down, a new question came to the forefront of my mind. Why was a soccer ball heading right for Peter's fa-

My eyes instantly narrowed into a glare as my eyes traced the ball back to its source.

A few meters away from where we were sitting, Flash was standing next to a stack of soccer balls with his hand outstretched and judging by his gaping expression, he hadn't expected me to catch the ball before it could hit Peter. Neither did I for that matter but that was beside the point.

The point is that I have had it with this guy's constant torment of my best friend and it was high time I did something about that.

Part of me knew that this could spell disaster for both Peter and I in the long run, but the rest of me was too furious to actually care about that and was fully intent on making Flash suffer, consequences be damned.

"Don't look so surprised, Thompson. An old lady in her nineties could catch this ball with how weak that throw was." I sneered venomously. "In fact, I bet that old lady could throw harder than you did." Absently, I noted that Peter was looking at me with surprise in his eyes, but my eyes never left Flash.

Slowly his entire demeanor shifted from shock and surprise to cocky arrogance.

Perfect.

"Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you do better." He challenged cockily.

He didn't have to ask me twice.

I stood up from my seat, threw the ball up and in one fluid motion did a swift twist in the air before kicking the ball fiercely towards Flash.

I thought I would feel bad when the soccer ball connected with Flash's face with a resounding smack; causing him to topple over backwards and making his nose bleed from the sheer force of the hit.

I didn't.

Judging by the fact that coach Wilson was rushing to Flash's side though, it looks like I'll be due for a little visit to Principal Morita.

So much for making it up to my Mom by doing well in school.

.

Just as I thought, Coach Wilson sent me to the Principal's office, while he sent Flash to the school infirmary.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Principal Morita also called in my parents, but since Mom and Dad had work I thought that neither of them would be able attend because of their busy schedules, so of course Mom wasn't busy and showed up a few minutes after the call.

I'm starting to think that my best friend's infamous "Parker luck" was starting to rub off on me.

As soon as my Mom walked on in, I discovered a newfound fascination for the tiles on Principal Morita's office and stared at them for the entire meeting.

I still felt her stare boring into the side of my head, though. Was she furious? Was she disappointed? I didn't dare look up to find out.

The meeting went by as I expected, they asked me to retell the story from my point of view and then asked me a few questions. I told them that Flash was the one who threw the ball at Peter while I was talking to him and I just caught before it could hit him, before I retaliated.

Did I regret what I did?

Hell no! Not even in the slightest, but I still nodded my head when Principal Morita asked me that question. I might as well do damage control and pretend like a good little girl for Mom; salvage what little is left of my original plan to make it up to her.

A few minutes later and here I am now; in the most awkwardly silent car ride of my life.

That's to be expected, though, our last conversation didn't exactly pan out so well. Also because Mom had to focus on not crashing into other cars and I was too focused on not making eye contact by staring out the passenger window.

It was agonizing to say the least and I really couldn't stand it.

"I thought you had work today." I mumbled out, looking at Mom using the reflection on the rear-view mirror.

As if feeling my gaze, her eyes briefly met mine in the mirror, before looking back at the road. She looked worried.

"I did have work today, but I called in sick this morning" she said casually.

"Why would you do that?" I asked curiously.

"I just didn't want to take any chances after what happened on the field trip."

I hummed in acknowledgement.

"Are you feeling okay?" Mom sounded worried and concerned, not angry and disappointed like I expected.

I nodded my head, still looking out the passenger window.

"Are you sure?"

Again, I nodded.

"I didn't see you this morning." Mom said trying to sound casual, though I could hear an undertone of hurt in her voice and it made me flinch.

"I slept in, I was gonna be late for school." Not a lie, but not entirely the truth either.

"You know you could've stayed at home, you know? After what happened to you on that field trip, I'm sure your teachers would understand."

I highly doubt experiencing spider puberty would be something my teachers would understand, let alone expect.

I snorted at that. "Come on, Mom. You've been through high school before. You know as well as I do that there some teachers who won't accept excuses less dire than the end of the world by alien invasion and even then, only if the school is within a 50 mile radius"

Mom chuckled under her breath amusedly and I smiled at that.

"Okay, that's true, that's true." Mom conceded before continuing. "But still you should've stayed at home today. What if something happened again?"

Something did happen, just not the kind of something she was thinking of.

I shook my head. "I'm fine now, Mom."

"I find that a little hard to believe, seeing as that your fever didn't break until 3 o'clock in the morning." Mom retorted.

I looked at her for the first time and I could see hints of dark circles covered up by make-up under her eyes. Damn, she really did stay up late.

"Sorry" I mumbled as I looked away, feeling guilty.

Out of my peripherals I saw her shake her head. "Don't be sorry, Cindy. I was the one who forced you to go on that trip in the first place."

"It's not your fault."

"You wouldn't have been bitten by that spider, if you weren't on that trip" Mom pointed out.

"and you couldn't have possibly known that I would be bitten by that spider while on the trip." I said reassuringly, even though a small part of me did want to agree with her. Probably the stubborn and angsty teenage part.

Silence ensued and I was in no hurry to break it. In fact, I would've preferred that we stayed like this for the rest of the trip home.

Mom had other ideas.

"Does your little accident during the field trip have anything to do with the incident in gym class?"

Ah, so we finally decide to talk about the elephant in the room...or car in this case.

"You could say that" I hedged.

Mom let out a sigh and I immediately tensed. I could feel my hackles rising. The calm was over, now here comes the storm.

"You know you broke that boy's nose, right?" Mom pointed out.

"Is that all?" I asked sarcastically, before waving my hand dismissively. "That's nothing to cry about."

"Cindy!"

"What do you want me to say?" I retorted as I met her scolding gaze. "That I'm sorry? I'm not sorry! Flash has had that broken nose coming since middle school! If you ask me he got off easy."

"You could've seriously hurt him!" Mom retorted.

I scoffed. "The guy bullies my best friend, Peter, for years and years and you didn't so much as bat an eye, but when I finally decide enough is enough you suddenly lose your mind?"

Mom sighed exasperatedly. "Cindy-"

"No, Mom, are you seriously taking Flash's side in all this?!" I asked disbelievingly.

"I'm not taking anyone's side." Mom insisted.

"Well, it sure sounds like you are because you're insinuating that I'm in the wrong." I grumbled.

"And you're not?" Mom challenged and I gaped at her.

Was she seriously asking me that?!

"That soccer ball wouldn't have even been in my hand in the first place if that jerk hadn't kicked it at Peter" I snapped angrily.

"You still kicked it at him, though. Now he's the one with the broken nose and you're the one in trouble with the principal." Mom pointed out.

"I shouldn't have even been in trouble with the principal in the first place!" I retorted angrily. "I bet that if I hadn't caught that ball and Peter was the one with a broken nose, Flash would come out smelling like a rose."

Mom sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Cindy, you're missing the point"

"There was a point?" I asked sarcastically. "I must've missed it through all the pro-flash propaganda."

Mom sighed again, she sounded exasperated as she turned her eyes back on the road and I looked out of the window.

Silence returned and I refused to be the one to break it. Partly because I didn't want to get involved in a car crash. Mostly because my teenage hormones still had me raring to argue with Mom.

"You say that Flash has been bullying Peter since middle school?" Mom eventually asked inquisitively, like she was building up to something.

I just nodded tensely, eyes never leaving the window.

"and has he ever retaliated once or asked you to retaliate on his behalf?"

My hands clenched into fists and I shook my head.

"Why do think that is?" Mom was careful to keep her tone curious and not confrontational.

"Because he's a noble idiot with a white knight complex who prefers to suffer in silence, smile at the pain and sacrifice himself for the greater good." I replied bitterly.

"Why do you think he's okay with that?" Mom asked patiently.

"Because he's a selfless idiot with no sense of self-preservation" came my petulant reply.

I could've sworn Mom was chuckling under her breath, but instead of turning and gaping at her I huffed and crossed my arms stubbornly.

"Are you sure that's the reason?" Mom asked patiently.

I wanted to say yes, that Peter was an idiot with no ounce of self preservation, a martyr, nothing more nothing less, but then I began to think, really think about all the times he could've stood up for himself but didn't and why he would do such a thing.

"It's because the only person he could stand to see get hurt or humiliated is himself."

Mom nodded in satisfaction at my answer before she spoke again. "I may not know Peter as well as you do, but I know him well enough to know that his guilt is probably gnawing at him right now, thinking about how you're being punished because you decided to defend him."

She had a point, but she wasn't entirely right.

"So you're saying that I should have let my best friend get hit by that ball and have his nose broken, when I could do something to stop it?"

"I'm saying that you should think about the consequences of your actions before you do them because said actions may be more trouble than they're worth and that you aren't the only one that can be affected by it"

Tired of all this heavy talk, I decided to crack a joke.

"Did you read that in a fortune cookie?" I teased good-naturedly.

Mom looked sheepish, before she tried (and failed) to regain her stern expression.

"That is neither the point nor does it make it any less true" Mom retorted. "Honestly, you're lucky Principal Morita decided to let you off the hook for your stunt today. Honestly, if he hadn't known about that boy's incessant bullying and let you off the hook, the kind of stain this would leave on your permanent record would-"

Aaaaand, that's my cue to roll my eyes and tune out the rest of the conversation.

As much as I loved my mother, I really wasn't in the mood to have my educational life planned out for me and have it dictated with excruciating detail.

My mother and I may not see eye to eye on the best of days and are snarling at each other on the worst of days, she is still part of my family and I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.

Being a teenager was definitely complicated.

Then again, what else is new?

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did any of you see the little cameo I inserted here? I bet a lot of you did. In my opinion a marvel fanfic is not complete without a Stan Lee cameo, just as a marvel movie will never be the same without a Stan Lee cameo. Rest in Peace, Stan Lee and may your legacy outlive us all.
> 
> Now, I know that this feels a little slow on the build-up, but one thing I've learned through all the stories I've written is that a rushed story is a bad story. Also, I wanted to elaborate on the relationships Cindy has with her mother and her childhood friend, but don't worry we'll see a bit more plot progression in the next chapter.
> 
> Also, if you want a clear visual for Cindy Moon just look up a picture of Tiffany Espensen from Spider-man Homecoming and as for Nari Moon just look up a picture of Susan Chuang.
> 
> Okay, so that concludes Chapter 2 of my story. What did you guys think? Feel free to drop a review and maybe favorite and follow my little story.
> 
> Farewell for now – K.I. Hernandez


	3. Second Bitten Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cindy gets an extended four-day weekend for presumably being in no condition to attend school, something that Cindy is more than thrilled with. Unfortunately, the start of her impromptu vacation from school is far from relaxing when Cindy begins to discover the extent of how that radioactive spider bite had changed her; a change that isn't really for the better. Luckily, she has her best friend, Peter Parker, to cheer her up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might be wondering why this story is taking so long. We're already three chapters in and the time elapsed in the story amounts to less than three days. The reason for this is because I want to endear Cindy Moon to mainstream readers who have most likely never heard of or don't care about the character as much as I do. Remember guys, Cindy is Marvel's underrated spider, so much so that she needs more popular characters to carry her name in a comic book, like spider-woman, spider-gwen or spider-man in the Spider-women 2016 crossover event and The spiderfly effect comic.
> 
> That being said, here we are now, so enjoy the show.

.

Cindy Moon

.

"Cindy, maybe you should take the next two days off school"

I froze mid-step at the words and my eyes narrowed as I turned around to look back at my Mom, who was still seated in the driver's seat of the car, her expression etched in soft concern. That wasn't what caught my attention, though, it was the thinly veiled punishment in her words. A punishment that I did not deserve.

I open my mouth to protest, but my mother immediately held her hands up placatingly.

"I'm not trying to ground you, Cindy and this isn't a punishment" Mom said reassuringly.

I snorted disbelievingly.

"Really, Cindy, I'm not trying to punish you." Mom insisted, before continuing. "This is just for my own piece of mind. You shouldn't have even gone to school today because of how sick you were last night, just take the rest of the week off so you can recover, missing two days of school won't ruin your GPA."

I narrow my eyes at that because Mom is usually all over my case when it comes to school and now she was letting me skip out on school for two days and after the permanent record worthy stunt that I had just pulled at gym, to boot? Yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all.

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my mother?" I deadpanned.

Mom sighed and rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "If I had to choose between your education and your health, Cindy, I would choose your well-being every time." Mom said tartly.

I just shook my head and shrugged, exasperated at the unnecessary concern. "I already told you I was fine this morning Mom, but if you want to give me a four day weekend then I'm not gonna complain"

She sighed again. "Just try and use that time to actually rest, okay?"

I nodded. "Lazing around all day in my bed doing nothing? Yeah, I think I can manage that."

Mom returned my nod "That's good." Her expression suddenly turned concerned as she continued to eye me uncertainly.

The longer her gaze is trained on me the more I fidget uncomfortably. Seriously, why was she staring at me like that? "What is it?" I asked cautiously.

Mom seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before she bit the bullet. "I have to pick up a few groceries from the store" Mom started carefully, before she glanced at the time on her watch. "And I'm gonna pick up junior from his play date while I'm out."

"Okay?" I drawled out, not knowing what else to say and not knowing where she was going with this.

She just kept eying me for a few seconds before she speaks up. "Are you sure you'll be alright being alone in the house for a couple hours?"

Oh for the love of-Seriously? That's what she's worried about? I'm Fifteen not Five!

"Gee, Mom, I don't know about that. Are you sure I won't accidentally burn our entire house down in the first ten minutes of being left alone." I deadpanned as I crossed my arms.

Mom sighed exasperatedly again. "Cindy, I'm being serious here."

What? And I wasn't? "So am I, Mom. I'm already fifteen years old and you're treating me like a kid who can't be left alone inside the house without burning it to the ground." I countered tartly.

"I know that, Cindy!" Mom insisted exasperatedly. "That's not what I'm worried about! What I am worried about is that you might experience another episode or break out into a sudden fever or god knows what else because of that spider bite and that you won't have any of us to help you"

"..." Okay yeah, that did make much more sense. I probably shouldn't have let my teenage hormones get the better of me.

I looked away, unable to look at Mom in the eye, but kept my arms folded as I replied. "I'm fine, Mom and I know that this will be hard to believe, but you don't have to be worried about any of that."

Technically not a lie, since what she should be worried about is me possibly growing extra limbs and extra eyes, as well as, me developing cravings for insects and flies, but she didn't have to know that.

"I'm pretty sure that the worse has passed now, Mom, and I'm sure I won't suddenly break into another spontaneous fever and even if I did, I can take care of it myself."

"I know you can, Cindy, but just because you can, doesn't mean that you should have to" Mom said gently. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

When Mom pulls a complete 180 like this on me, it kinda makes it impossible to stay mad at her. Honestly, it was almost too easy for her to defuse my foul mood with just a change in character.

"I know, Mom and I appreciate it, really I do, even if it feels like I don't." I said quietly.

I could almost hear the smile in her voice when she said. "I know you do, Cindy."

Okay, this was really getting uncomfortable and I am not used to these kinds of talks with my Mom. I've gotta end this fast.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I'm just gonna go inside now" I pointed over my shoulder towards our house, slowly backing away as I did. "So that I could...you know...get some rest and all that...probably take a shower, too, so I should...uh..."

I heard Mom giggle amusedly and I could feel my cheeks burn bright red. "You do that, then."

"Yeah, I'll just-" I cut myself short as I turned on my heels and ran inside the house, closing the door behind me, before I slid down to the floor with my back against the door while I buried my face with my hands.

Well, that was mortifying and eidetic memory wasn't much help either. Why was it so much easier to talk with my Mom when an argument is involved in one way or another?

I stayed put in my place against the door until I couldn't hear Mom's car engine in the distance and once it did, I got up and went straight to my room on the second floor of our house.

With how big our house is, I have an entire bedroom all to myself, which is something that I'm grateful to have since I would need some time alone to figure out exactly how much that spider bite had changed me. I'm pretty sure that the changes aren't going to stop at a hotter body and occasional migraines and whatever these changes were, I'll need some privacy to deal with them. I don't exactly want my parents or my little brother to find out that their daughter/big sister is turning into a spider human hybrid.

Once I reached my bedroom, I went inside, locked the door behind me, threw my shoulder bag on the bed and quickly followed suit.

My room was pretty simple, a bed on the right side of the room, a side table next to it, a closet next to the main door, the personal bathroom opposite the bed, and a desk with a chair on the far left corner of the room next to the only window.

Unlike most girls my age, I didn't bother with decorating. Partly because I do not want to see faces of celebrities or the color pink wherever I looked (though I wouldn't mind if there were pokemon), mainly because I didn't have the time; between school, gymnastics, decathlon and soccer, I barely had time to actually sit down and think about the interior design of my bedroom, much less actually decorate.

Even now when I have four days worth of free time because of my little spider bite incident, decorating is the furthest thing from my mind.

One step at a time though.

First things first, I need a shower, I need food, and I need my bed. Finding out what other surprises that spider bite has in store for me can come later when my mind isn't teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown and my body is in no danger of hyperventilating

Standing up from my bed, I walked over to my closet, picked out some comfortable clothes, a white tank top and black leggings, and placed them on the bed, before grabbing a towel and heading for the bathroom.

A nice hot shower. That was the first thing on my list of things I'd want to get over with before having to deal with the spidery repercussions of my little bite, followed by some lunch and a nap.

So, of course, fate decides to throw a monkey wrench in my plans.

As soon as I walked in the bathroom, I locked the door behind me and tried to hang up my towel on the hook.

Key word: tried.

For some reason, the towel was sticking to my hand and was not letting go. Three guesses as to what could've caused this.

Staring nervously at the offending white cloth, I tried flicking my hand to try and dislodge it to no avail. Spying the hook mounted on the back of the bathroom door, I suddenly got an idea. Carefully, I tied one end of the towel around the hook, before taking a few steps back until it went taut.

Holding my towel-attached palm out, I muttered "Here goes nothing."

I pulled, grunting at the effort but, the towel was not giving up. I pulled harder as I heaved my body backwards.

In hindsight, this probably wasn't such a good idea. I'm not exactly up to date on how strong a spider's ability to cling to stuff is, but I'm betting it's pretty impressive if they keep showing the creepy crawlies on animal planet. So, if my clinging ability is proportional to that of a real spider's, then-

SNAP!

"YAH!" I yelped as the grip suddenly went slack, sending me careening backwards. Out of pure instinct (and hours of gymnastics practice), I let the momentum carry me, my left hand suddenly shot out and planted itself on the floor before I pushed off the tiles and landed in a crouch.

It all happened so fast that I barely remembered moving at all. It was like my mind had switched off and my body carried out the movement out of instinct. Even with my gymnastics training, I wouldn't have been able to pull that off before.

I felt really dazed as I let out a shaky breath and stood up from my crouch on equally shaky feet. I was really weirded out right now. Something like that didn't just happen without thinking or out of the blue. That manoeuvre would've taken weeks of practice to commit to muscle memory, maybe even months and even then, it wouldn't be as smooth as that.

Absently, I noted that the towel was still attached to my hand and that I had just ripped towel hook clean off the door. For a moment, I just stared at the hole on the door, trying not to panic.

I took deep breaths to try and calm myself down and to slow my heart rate.

"Okay, Cindy, just calm down. You can fix this. There's no need to panic" I reassured myself, before the towel suddenly dropped from my fingers. I barely gave it a second glance as I started stripping down because I really needed that shower right now. If anything it would help soothe my nerves. Thankfully, none of the clothes stuck to my palms this time.

Still trying to keep my breathing even, I stepped inside the shower and grabbed the dial to turn the shower on.

CRUNCH!

My eyes shot wide open at the sound of metal being crushed. That was not good.

I gulped down the mountain in my throat and slowly let my eyes drop down to the shower dial.

Or what used to be a shower dial at least. All that's left was this mangled and crumbled metal ball inside my clenched fist. Geez, talk about not knowing your own strength.

Ever so gently, I started easing up on my grip and carefully retracted my hand...or at least I tried, but my sticky hands chose that moment to screw me over yet again by sticking to the mangled piece of metal.

Not a second later, the shower pipe burst, spraying water all over my face. My feet suddenly slipped from under me and I ended up flailing backwards. Not wanting to fall and hit my head my arms lashed out to find something to grab onto.

It worked. I managed to stop myself from falling any further.

I exhaled a sigh of relief, only to gasp back in when I looked up.

The fingers of my right hand were embedded deep into the shower wall, buried up to where my fingers connected to my palm.

The ripped out towel hook from the door frame is minor and still fixable.

The mangled shower knob and the burst water pipe are more pressing, but still fixable and more importantly explainable.

But five finger holes on the shower wall? Yeah...that is gonna be a lot harder to fix, not to mention impossible to explain.

I shot up in a panic, ignoring the burst water pipe and the pooling water at my feet. My eyes were only fixed on where my fingers were buried into the wall.

Gingerly, I pried my fingers out, wincing at the chips of tile and plaster that fell out of the holes and the small dust clouds that appeared.

It took me a while, but when I finally did manage to pull my fingers out the wall, I was met with yet another shock.

I had claws. Not fingers. Claws.

My heart was racing and my chest was starting to tighten uncomfortably. It was also getting really hard to get air into my lungs.

Was I hyperventilating? I was probably hyperventilating.

I can't help it though. This afternoon, alone has been nothing but one shock after the other. First the sticky fingers, then the enhanced matrix-level reflexes, then the super strength and now the ability to make claw protrusions sprout from my fingers?

Instinctively, I turned to look at my other hand to see if it sprouted claws, too.

It didn't. My left hand didn't have any claws.

Instead, shooting out of my fingertips and sticking to the bathroom door were tranluscent white strands of what could only be spider webbing.

Seeing the strands of webbing, I couldn't stop myself from gaping in shock and I instantly recoil at the sight, my left hand jerking away from the door.

The webline went taut for a second before suddenly going slack.

There was the tell-tale sound of something heavy crashing on the floor with a loud bang that made me jump.

Numbly, I raised my eyes up from the slack webline to the source of the noise.

My bathroom door was now on the floor. I just ripped it clean off its hinges. The webline was still firmly attached, no sign of tears or rips.

Ever so slowly, I slid down to my knees and my back leaned against the wall. The water from the burst shower pipe was still pelting me with water, but I hardly noticed. I felt numb.

I was not mentally ready to deal with this mess. At first, I thought that I was, but I'm not. Sure, I may have theorized that something like this would happen, even joked about this stuff to Peter, but expecting this to happen and actually seeing it happen are two very different things.

One thing's for sure: I am nowhere near ready to deal with this. Not alone, at least.

And there was only one other person who could possibly understand what I'm going through right now.

Shakily, I picked myself up off the shower floor and made my way back to my bedroom. I was still naked, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. I just need to feel like I'm not all alone in this.

It took me a while to find my phone and even longer to actually use it with a clawed/webbed fingers, but when I finally managed it, I saw that I had several unread messages and several missed calls. Dread creeped up on me when I saw that they were all from Peter.

Oh my god, was he going through this stuff right now, too? Is that why he was trying so hard to contact me? Was he freaking out like I was?

I didn't waste another second and immediately dialed his number. I sat on the bed, as I waited for him to pick up, anxiety creeping down my spine.

It rang once. Then twice. Three times.

"Come on, Pete. Answer the phone." I muttered anxiously. I really needed my friend right now, sure, but I also needed to know if he is okay.

The phone rang two more times and just when I thought that I was going to get the voicemail, he answered.

"Cindy-"

"Peter, oh my god, are you okay? What happened? Did something happen to you, too?" I blurted out urgently in one breath.

Peter stuttered over the line after I railroaded whatever he was going to say, but I couldn't tell if it was because he was caught off guard that I knew or if he was trying to understand what I had just said.

"I'm...uh...I'm fine, Cindy. Wait, why are you asking me this? I'm the one who's supposed to ask you that. Coach Wilson took you out of class are you-" Peter sounded really worried.

I honestly couldn't believe he was worrying about this of all things.

"Peter, I couldn't care less about what happened in gym class right now and flash thompson's injury for that matter and that's the last thing you should be worrying about." I said shrilly, panic was lacing into my voice, but I didn't care so long as it got my point across.

It did, because when Peter spoke again, he sounded like he was on the verge of having a panic attack himself. "Cindy, what's going on? Are you okay?"

No, I am not okay! I am the furthest thing from okay right now and I am getting further from it with each passing second. I thought to myself as I looked down at my hands, one still clawed and the other still attached to webs.

"Not really, no."

"Does it have something to do with-"

"Peter!" I cut in before he could continue, not wanting t discuss this over the phone. You never knew who might be listening in on this conversation.

I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm my racing heart.

It didn't work, so I just started talking, despite the shakiness. "Look, I can't talk about this over the phone, okay? Can you come over to my place?"

Please say yes, Please say yes, Please say yes.

"No problem, when should I come over?"

Now. Right now. "As soon as you can."

"I'll be there in ten minutes." I heard him promise before he hung up.

I shouldn't feel alone anymore. Peter will be here in a few minutes. I'm not alone in this. I have my best friend with me. I have Peter and he always understands.

Still...Where do I go from this? What do I do now?

I shivered as a sudden chill hit me and I looked down at my still naked body.

Putting some clothes on would probably be a good start.

.

Peter Parker

.

...A few minutes earlier...

.

"Everything alright, Pete?"

I looked up at Uncle Ben, who was standing by the car. He looked really worried.

I wanted to tell him that there was nothing to worry about, but the words died at the tip of my tongue, as I looked down at my phone. Cindy still hadn't replied to any of my texts or returned any of my calls.

As soon as gym class was over, I had rushed all the way to principal Morita's office. I had actually been hoping to catch Cindy and her parents before they left, so that I could explain to them that it wasn't Cindy's fault and that any punishment they had for her should be given to me because I was the one she defended.

Cindy and her parents were already gone by the time I got there, Principal Morita had raised an eyebrow at me questioningly and I tried to explain that it was my fault and that Cindy shouldn't be punished for what happened in gym.

The principal had waved a hand at me dismissively and reassured me that he just let Cindy off with a warning and that he did not issue any punishment.

Was Principal Morita lying when he said that? Did he just say that so that I wouldn't be able to take the fall for Cindy? Had he expected me to do something like that?

Then again, just because Principal Morita didn't punish her, doesn't mean her parents won't. Did they take her phone? Is that why she's not responding? Or is she being punished in another way and is too mad to hear anything I have to say?

My heart ached at that thought.

"Are you worried about Cindy?"

I couldn't help but gape at my uncle, who was giving a knowing look of understanding.

"How did you know it was...?" I trailed off, still caught off guard.

Uncle Ben just shrugged. "May and I practically raised you, Pete. You and Cindy were practically joined at the hip since the day you met and whenever you were worried about her, you get a very specific expression on your face."

I wanted to snort derisively at that. I did not have a specific facial expression like that...did I?

"Yes, you do." Uncle Ben said as if sensing my thoughts, before continuing. "So, what has you worrying about her so much?"

I tell him everything that happened at the gym, censoring parts that he didn't need to know, like the spider bite induced second puberty for one.

Uncle Ben just nodded along the entire time as I retold the story and once I was finished he had this soft smile of knowing and understanding. I knew that look. It was the same look he has when he was about to say something profound.

"Pete, I don't think Cindy is mad at you."

It was really amazing how Uncle Ben always seemed to hear what I'm not telling him because the truth is, I really was worried that Cindy was mad at me. After all, she had been trying to get her grades up to make it up to her Mom and I just got her sent to the Principal's office a few hours ago.

Okay, so maybe Flash had it coming and maybe I did feel vindictive when I saw him finally get his comeuppence, but Cindy was already having trouble keeping her grades up and doing her hobbies; she always had these carefully laid plans that make things work. If anything, I just threw a wrench into her carefully-laid plans after gym class and she had ample reason to be mad at me. That would explain all the unanswered texts and unreturned calls.

"How can you be so sure about that?" I asked, sounding small.

"Because I know how much she cares about you, Pete. I also know how protective she can be when it comes to the people she cares about. You know that, too, don't you?"

Of course, I did. I've seen the fierce glares he's been sending Flash's way since middle school and how she practically mothers her baby brother.

"Now knowing all that, do you really think she would've let that ball hit you in the face when she could've done something to stop it?"

No, she wouldn't. She barely put up with flash before she was bitten by that spider.

But still...

"If she isn't mad, then why isn't she texting me back or returning my calls?"

Uncle Ben smiled. "That's simple; in her eyes she didn't do anything wrong by protecting you, but I'm betting you've been texting her apologies non-stop or calling to make amends."

My silence is all the answer he needs to know that he was right.

"That's not what she wants to hear, Pete." Uncle Ben said with a shake of his head. "You need to show her that you appreciate what she did for you today"

I slowly nodded as I considered the words. "Yeah, that makes sense."

As if on cue, my phone started ringing and when I checked to see who it was I saw Cindy's caller ID.

"There's your chance now" Uncle Ben said as he gestured to my phone. "Are you gonna take it?"

I really wanted to answer the phone, but all I could manage to do was stare at it while my mind raced with things I could say.

Should I make a quip? No, that would be in poor taste. I could apologize first and then thank her later, but Uncle Ben just told me that she didn't want an apology...um...maybe I could ask her how she is and what I can do to make it up to her? No, that would make her feel like she did something wrong and she didn't want that. I could apologize for all the texts I sent and then tell her that I appreciate what she did for me today at school. Would that work though? Will she hang up the moment I start apologizing? What will we talk about after that?

"Pete?" I looked up at Uncle Ben, who was smiling amusedly. "Maybe you should answer the phone, before it goes into voicemail?"

Yeah, I probably should. Why am I even feeling nervous about this? It's not like this is the first time we've talked over the phone.

With shaking fingers, I answered the call. It wasn't until the phone was pressed against my ear that I realized I still didn't know what to say.

"Cindy-" was all I managed to get out, before Cindy's voice sounded on the other end.

"Peter, oh my god, are you okay? What happened? Did something happen to you, too?"

My mouth opened and closed for a moment as I tried to think of how to respond. I wasn't expecting her to sound this scared and panicked. Angry, sure, disdainful, maybe, but not panicked.

"I'm...uh...I'm fine, Cindy." Today's earlier events suddenly came to mind, as did my earlier worries.

"Wait, why are you asking me this? I'm the one who should be asking you that. Coach Wilson took you out of class are you-" I asked worriedly.

"Peter, I couldn't care less about what happened in gym class right now and flash thompson's injury for that matter and that's the last thing you should be worrying about."

I have never heard my best friend sound so shrill before and dread began creeping up my spine. What's going on? Why is she so panicked?

I tried to keep calm, but I was starting to panic, too. "Cindy, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"Not really, no." came her panicked response.

A thought suddenly occured to me and I asked: "Does it have something to do with-"

"Peter!" She interrupted and I clamped my mouth shut.

For a few moments, the only sound I could hear one the other was of her taking deep breaths. She was probably trying to calm herself down, so I stayed silent despite my own panic gnawing at me as the silence dragged on.

When Cindy spoke again, she sounded calmer. "Look, I can't talk about this over the phone, okay? Can you come over to my place?"

"No problem, when should I come over?" I reply instantly. Whatever's going on her must be serious and I'm the only other person who can understand it.

"As soon as you can."

I bit my lip and looked at Uncle Ben, wondering if he could give me a ride.

Again, as if sensing my thoughts, he gave me a nod, opened the car door, and got in the driver's seat.

"I'll be there in ten minutes." I replied before hanging up and getting in the car.

I just hope traffic isn't too bad. Cindy sounded like she was going through a tough time.

.

Cindy Moon

.

Three knocks sounded from my door, followed by a familiar voice calling out from the other side.

"Cindy? Are you in there?"

He was early. It's only been 5 minutes since my call. What did he do, run all the way to my house? I probably shouldn't have sounded so panicked or desperate over the phone. He must be winded from running all the way over here.

I gulped down the guilt building up in my throat. He was here now and I really needed my best friend, I'll make it up to him later.

If he doesn't run for the hills after he sees the mess I made, that is.

"Cindy?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and called out shakily. "Yeah, Pete, I'm here. You can come in" I paused for a moment before I added. "Just try not to freak out too much, okay?"

"Okay, I promise." He called out reassuringly.

I was having trouble breathing and my heart was hammering so hard that it actually ached in my chest. I tried to calm down, but that was easier said than done at the moment and it only became harder when the door slowly creaked open and Peter stepped through the doorway.

He managed to take one step into my bedroom, before he froze in shock, eyes so wide they might fall out of their sockets and jaw so wide open he might start catching flies.

I can't really blame him, though because I was still in shock myself and no matter what fantasies his mind had conjured up during his run to my house, seeing his long-time best friend sitting on her bed with one hand having claws and another having weblines shooting out of her fingers and attaching to a dislodged door was not among them.

Then again, this was Peter, so maybe it was and he's just shocked at actually seeing it with his own eyes. I know I was.

As much as I sympathize with him, I really couldn't stand this uncomfortable silence and I did not call my best friend here so that he could gape at me like I'm a freak...even though that's what I felt like right now.

I couldn't bring myself to dare break the ice, though. I waited with baited breath for the other shoe to fall and as much as I wanted to believe that my best friend wouldn't abandon me because of something like this, there was still this gnawing sense of doubt and uncertainty in my gut that said otherwise; that he was going to shout out that I was a freak before telling me to get away from him and high-tailing it out of the house.

My eyes started to sting at the thought, but I force myself to hold them in.

His stare kept alternating between my face, my clawed hand, my webbed hand and the door it was attached to. It took him a long time to get his bearings, but when his body language showed that he was about to respond, I leaned away from him slightly, closed my eyes and prepared for the worst.

"That is Awesome!"

Wait, what?!

My eyes shot open and I stared at him incredulously. He had this wide-eyed giddy grin om as he crossed the room and examined the web cable in his hands, looking at it closely and pulling at it every now and again.

Me? I just kept staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights. Did he just say that this awesome? Did he really just say that?

"Oh my god the tensile strength is off the charts! You could probably lift a cat with this stuff and it wouldn't even so much as rip." Peter exclaimed as he tried (and failed) to pull the cable apart.

He turned to me with what I dubbed as his 'science face' and started rattling off questions. "Is this stuff coming out of your fingers? How does that work? Do you have glands in your forearms? Do you think I'll be able to do this, too?"

Come on, Cindy, say something. This is good, he's not freaking out...not in a bad way, at least.

It took a few tries, but I finally managed a response. "I-I'm not really sure, Pete. They...uh...they just sort of shot out of my fingers. I don't really want to think too much into it, though."

"Whyyyy?" I snorted a laugh at my best friend's whiny tone.

"Because if I think about it too much, you'll probably realize just how nasty and disturbing that fact really is" I said honestly, before I winced at my words.

Peter just made a small conceding gesture with his head, though, before saying. "Fair enough." His eyes then trailed down to my other hand and I knew that he really wanted to get a closer look at my claws.

Wordlessly, I held up my other hand and he sat with me on my bed before taking my clawed hand in both of his.

His hands were gentle and soft as he carresed my hand and took a closer look at the claws at the ends of my fingers. "That is so cool, they're like claw protrusions that come directly out of the skin, it's like they're part of your finger's bone structure"

As disturbing as that mental image was, Peter's gentle carreses gave me a great sense of relief. His mere presence alone was like a soothing balm that swept away all my earlier insecurities and worries.

The fact that he was here still with me and is not freaking out in the way that I was afraid made me feel like I'm not so alone in this...development. That whatever happens, I'll still have my best friend by my side.

Times like these really made me appreciate the fact that Peter Parker was my best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so that's the end of chapter three, guys. Feel free to leave a comment down below, give kudos, subscribe, or just bookmark my little story. I wanted to add a bit more to this chapter, but I decided to cut some of the scenes because they ultimately didn't contribute that much to the story, made the chapter unnecessarily longer, and I felt like I already got my point across in this chapter.
> 
> Maybe, I'll do spin-off consisting of all my outtakes, what do you guys think?
> 
> Farewell for now – K.I. Hernandez


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